Alejandro Tobón
Bio
Alejandro Tobón Rojas. Born in Medellín, Colombia in 1978 lives and works in Medellín.
He is a visual artist from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He cofounded the "Barrio Colombia Circuit" in Medellín, Colombia in 2017. He also cofounded “SAL” a space for culture in Medellín, Colombia in 2016 as well as the “Ojiva” visual arts in 2013. He was codirector of the “SNACK” Art festival Medellín, Colombia. He has participated in individual exhibitions featuring: (2019) “Fossils in motion”; Cometa gallery Bogotá, Colombia. (2017) “Nature’s Differences” at cultural center Saint Marry Paris, France. (2013) “Fuera Abajo” Cometa gallery Bogotá, Colombia. (2010) “Fuerza Extraña” at ‘Sala U’ gallery Universidad Nacional, Medellín, Colombia. Moreover, he has participated in collective exhibitions including: (2021) “Los 7 del Barrio Colombia + 2 invitados”; La Balsa art gallery Bogotá, Colombia. (2018) “Scope”, art gallery, Katapult gallery, Basel Switzerland. (2017) “Patio de Esculturas”, MAMM (Modern Art Museum Medellín), Medellín, Colombia. (2014) Pinta, London’s art fair, London, England. (2013), “Sin Lugar ni Cabeza”; Mark Hashem gallery, París, France. (2012) Preview, art fair; Berlín, Germany. (2005) “Arte Joven”, MAMBO (Modern Art Museum Bogotá), Bogotá, Colombia. Furthermore, he has received recognitions and awards. (2019) winner of monumental work: Medellín outdoor (“Medellín a Cielo Abierto”), Medellín, Colombia. (2019) monumental work commission La Serrezuela commercial and cultural center, Cartagena, Colombia. (2017) international circulation scholarship, Medellin’s mayor’s office. (2012) Residency JA. CA; institute for art and technology, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. (2016) “Interactions – Ayacucho”, accompanied by Connatural, Museum of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia.
Statement
I have always been interested on what the search of an own place could mean. Hence, in my propositions I explore the value of earth, its distribution, and the ways I could safeguard it. In this sense, when I see what I recognize as territory, I question how earth, being a common natural resource, acquires the sense of a product that is negotiated in a systematic fragmented way. The possibilities inside the artistic practices allow me to use drawings, interdisciplinary dialogs, radiational manufacturing techniques, and technology and software to connect these ideas and configurate installed objects that I build with reusable materials like wood, iron, and polymers. I use geometric shapes as well as shapes from nature. I use these shapes with building principles typical of craftwork, architecture, and the industry. I use shapes and surfaces that interfere with places by occupying them and sometimes inviting the spectator to interact. This interaction generates effects and tours that give an account of the human presence on the territory.
